WATCHWORD:
7 I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.9 No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. 10 For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. 11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm 16:7-11
Meditation:
Gotta Breathe
Indeed, we must all breathe in order to sustain life. That immutable fact has been hammered home in my life, first with my wife who passed away from lung disease, and more recently my own situation where breathing is a problem caused by heart-lung interaction, which will result in heart surgery this very day.
I deal with the inconvenience of my problem with medication, by limiting my own exertion, and by always carrying my rescue inhaler. There are times when it gets a little more serious, and I have no choice but to stop everything and concentrate on breathing, often with a silent prayer of ‘Help me, Lord.’
I found it strangely comforting to realize that the day of my surgery would be the first day of Lent. This is an important season of the chruch of all Christians, a time of prayer and reflecting on how our lives are lived by the grace of God. When you are faced with your own mortality it becomes very revealing, a different kind of self examination and rededication to what it means to walk with the Lord. It doesn’t matter if you’re faced with surgery, or simply the daily process of honestly reviewing how you have responded to each challenge, the process of self examination is a refreshing look of how we human beings follow the teachings of Jesus in our every day lives. This journey of self-examination often reveals areas needing improvement, inviting us to confront weaknesses, biases, or distractions that may impede our lives of faith.
However, the reality is that we all have those times in the course of a busy day when we have to pause, catch our breath, and, maybe, reorganize our activities in order to move on to the next task. Then I would guess that there would be times when ‘Help me, Lord’ goes through our mind as we try to juggle many projects at the same time.
David the psalmist expressed this thought in Psalm 16:5-6 when he declared, Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Then he proceeds to describe joy as a lightness in his step when he says in v.9, No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
Joy is available to us, as well. In fact, for the child of God, all we need to have joy in our lives has already been provided through the indwelling Holy Spirit. What a gift! A fruit of the spirit. It’s true, it’s real, it’s present. Breathe it in! I know that I will. Amen.
Lenten Readings March 5-8:
Isaiah 58:1-12. Psalm 51:1-17. 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10. Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.
A Prayer Request:
Today I am scheduled for a heart procedure called TAVR to replace my aortic valve. I would appreciate your good thoughts and prayers. Thank you. Stan
A Prayer to Follow:
Heavenly father, I love you, I love you, I honor you and I am so grateful for your presence in my life. I set out to pray for joy Lord, but I know that my joy is in the Lord, following you to the best of my abilities and with your blessings. Lord I know that the joy you give is to be passed on to others. Grant me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart of compassion to spend the joy you give me in the interest of others. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord, amen.
